Hi everyone, I was just wondering if anyone could offer me a little tech help please? A couple of days ago I got simultaneous issues on my iPhone 12, and it wasn't after an "event" such as updating my phone, dropping it, etc - it all just randomly happened at once whilst my phone was sat on the desk.
The Face ID, compass and screen-lock (which activates when on a call and the phone is next to your face) all stopped working.
Also, when I restarted the phone it was on it's dimmest brightness, even though the slider was at maximum, and no adjustment (such as auto-brightness on/off, etc) would resolve this, except for a "trick" I found online where you change the Display Zoom to "larger text". Once that option is set, the brightness all resolved itself, and lets me adjust it as normal and set the Display Zoom back "Default" with no problems. The only caveat though is that if the iPhone is powered off or restarted, the issue repeats itself, so the display itself is able to adjust it's brightness fine, it's just something on startup that isn't happy.
Anyway, I called Apple and they ran a diagnostics which presented the following failures:
- Ambient light sensor failed
- Compass failed
- Display has got a main or rear system compatibility failure
- Face ID failed
I booked into the Genius Bar, figuring they would get to the actual crux of the issues, but they did nothing above what the over-the-phone diagnostics did. All they did was give a cosmetic review of my phone (all fine) then told me it's out of warranty and presented me with a £480 repair quote. I figured that they wouldn't cover it, but I at least expected a bit more of a technical insight into the problem. I think that their thought process was: "Well it's got so many issues that we'll just replace the phone, so who cares?" Well, you know, I care.
The reason I'm here is because I've exhausted all avenues with Apple's technical help, and have done all the research I can online, but I'm not much further along than best-guess. It sounds to me like it's a logic board issue, but for all I know someone with tech knowledge might think: "That doesn't sound right, it sounds like a wire has broken or a connector between the board and the sensors has come loose". Like I said - all of these problems occurred simultaneously, so surely it's got to be one piece of hardware that's caused all these issues (whilst leaving the rest of the phone fully functional). I posed that to the "genius", and he just looked bored and was wondering why I was still talking to him.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Just to give a little background to my phone - I bought it new 2 years ago, it's as-new, never been dropped, always had a case & protector on from the first minute of ownership, no water damage and has a perfect screen without a single hint of a scratch. In case anyone is wondering "Well why does it matter what's up with it, you either pay the bill or you don't", I'm wanting to know so that I can research the issue a bit more (see if others are in the same boat), and also so I can think about going down the private-repair-shop route (but I don't want them to start opening the phone up until I have a bit better insight, because then I've closed the door on holding Apple or the retailer responsible.) And on that note, I don't want to go down the legal route if it sounds like it'd be a £100 fix from a repair shop (that'd be "cheaper" than the countless hours I'd spend with Apple and the retailer).
Again, any help would be greatly, greatly, appreciated! Cheers.
The Face ID, compass and screen-lock (which activates when on a call and the phone is next to your face) all stopped working.
Also, when I restarted the phone it was on it's dimmest brightness, even though the slider was at maximum, and no adjustment (such as auto-brightness on/off, etc) would resolve this, except for a "trick" I found online where you change the Display Zoom to "larger text". Once that option is set, the brightness all resolved itself, and lets me adjust it as normal and set the Display Zoom back "Default" with no problems. The only caveat though is that if the iPhone is powered off or restarted, the issue repeats itself, so the display itself is able to adjust it's brightness fine, it's just something on startup that isn't happy.
Anyway, I called Apple and they ran a diagnostics which presented the following failures:
- Ambient light sensor failed
- Compass failed
- Display has got a main or rear system compatibility failure
- Face ID failed
I booked into the Genius Bar, figuring they would get to the actual crux of the issues, but they did nothing above what the over-the-phone diagnostics did. All they did was give a cosmetic review of my phone (all fine) then told me it's out of warranty and presented me with a £480 repair quote. I figured that they wouldn't cover it, but I at least expected a bit more of a technical insight into the problem. I think that their thought process was: "Well it's got so many issues that we'll just replace the phone, so who cares?" Well, you know, I care.
The reason I'm here is because I've exhausted all avenues with Apple's technical help, and have done all the research I can online, but I'm not much further along than best-guess. It sounds to me like it's a logic board issue, but for all I know someone with tech knowledge might think: "That doesn't sound right, it sounds like a wire has broken or a connector between the board and the sensors has come loose". Like I said - all of these problems occurred simultaneously, so surely it's got to be one piece of hardware that's caused all these issues (whilst leaving the rest of the phone fully functional). I posed that to the "genius", and he just looked bored and was wondering why I was still talking to him.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Just to give a little background to my phone - I bought it new 2 years ago, it's as-new, never been dropped, always had a case & protector on from the first minute of ownership, no water damage and has a perfect screen without a single hint of a scratch. In case anyone is wondering "Well why does it matter what's up with it, you either pay the bill or you don't", I'm wanting to know so that I can research the issue a bit more (see if others are in the same boat), and also so I can think about going down the private-repair-shop route (but I don't want them to start opening the phone up until I have a bit better insight, because then I've closed the door on holding Apple or the retailer responsible.) And on that note, I don't want to go down the legal route if it sounds like it'd be a £100 fix from a repair shop (that'd be "cheaper" than the countless hours I'd spend with Apple and the retailer).
Again, any help would be greatly, greatly, appreciated! Cheers.
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